From Beethoven to Present - The Sound of the Horn

Mischa Greul feels connected to the Horn Trio by Johannes Brahms in many ways. As a little boy, he used to be quite at home in the Brahmshaus, which was Brahms’s place of residence in Rüschlikon at Lake Zurich in the summer of 1874. During his childhood, it was where his grandparents lived, and their pride in living in such a historic house was passed on to him. Before becoming a member of the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, he lived in Baden-Baden where Brahms composed his Opus 40, which has become a constant part of Mischa Greul’s repertoire. Beethoven’s Opus 17 sonata for piano and horn could be interpreted as the dialogue of a married couple. Schumann‘s Adagio and Allegro Opus 70 is all about the fusion of sound. For many horn players it is considered a unique jewel of the horn repertoire. The Air for solo horn by Jörg Widmann is Greul’s latest discovery, according to the composer a “piece of nature about closeness and distance”.